congress and the president have just 40 days to avoid the so- called fiscal cliff. when the ball drops on new year's eve, tax hikes and severe spending cuts will kick in automatically unless a deal is reached. wyatt andrews spoke with two men who say they know how it should be done, if only washington would listen. >> reporter: two years ago, the fiscal commission chaired by democrat erskine bowles and former republican senator alan simpson proposed every basic element of the fiscal cliff solution being discussed now. their plan was a mixture of higher taxes, lower spending and the reform of medicare and social security. both men told us sacrifice has to come from everyone. >> all of us have to have some skin in the game to get it done. >> if you want something, pay for it. it's a sick idea, but it is an interesting idea. >> reporter: their biggest idea was to increase revenue by combining both the president's demand for higher taxes on the rich and the republican proposal to get rid of tax loopholes. bowles/simpson would eliminate almost every tax deduction for ind